When Brad Feld first approached my co-founder and I with the idea of Collective Intellect giving shares to EFCO, I thought it was great. I mean, finding a way to give back to the community where we grow our company, and setting up all the details beforehand – It just makes so much sense, similar to estate planning, to pre-meditate a giving strategy, and EFCO provides an outlet to some very meaningful local organizations supporting the arts, education, and the environment.
The last time around, when we sold our company, Dante Software, there was just this onslaught of people wanting to either manage my money or trying to get me to donate to their organizations. I'm certain most, if not all of these non-profits do good things, but its hard to come up with your giving philosophy and make those kind of decisions when your company is getting sold. Who should I give to? How much should I give to each group? When can I possibly sit down and think about this right now?
Deciding to be a part of EFCO helps make these decisions in advance of any liquidity event, so that everything is thought through and figured out – the only thing that happens later is the transfer of funds. It makes me feel good about what we are doing, because we have this great way to contribute back to Boulder. It links our company’s success to the community, where we and our staff live and work.
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